DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to honor every word. Now, if you want to understand where American music came from — not just Texas music, not just blues, but the whole sprawling thing — you might want to pull over a minute. Because the corner of Elm Street and Central Avenue in downtown Dallas holds more history than most people ever stop to reckon with.
The neighborhood is called Deep Ellum. That name — well, the marker's got a thought on it. Locals around that way pronounced Elm as Ellum, and the neighborhood sat on the deep, far end of that street.
Deep Ellum. Say it a few times and it starts to sound exactly like what it was. During the early twentieth century, Deep Ellum was one of the largest and most dynamic urban African American communities in the entire United States.
Large numbers of African Americans were moving into Dallas searching for work, and many found it with the nearby railroads. That steady employment helped shops take root, restaurants open their doors, businesses establish themselves. A community built itself around that energy.
By the nineteen twenties and thirties, Deep Ellum was known for its nightclubs and dance halls. Musicians played in churches, on street corners, in bars. The neighborhood was alive with it.
And into that world, around 1910, walked a young man from Caddo Parish, Louisiana. His name was Huddie Ledbetter — though history knows him as Leadbelly, born around 1888. He came to Dallas, and Dallas gave him two things that would change everything.
It was here that Leadbelly heard his first jazz band. And it was here that he discovered the 12-string guitar — the instrument that would eventually become his favorite. Think about that.
That sound you've heard a thousand times, that deep resonant ring — it found him in Deep Ellum. Then, around 1912, Leadbelly met another musician. A man named Blind Lemon Jefferson.
The two became musical partners. They performed on street corners together. In clubs.
And on the interurban railroad that served the Dallas area — which means somewhere out on those rails, these two men were playing music while the Texas landscape rolled by the windows. Leadbelly, Jefferson, and their Deep Ellum colleagues went on to have a major impact on the development of American blues, country, jazz, and rock music. Not Texas music.
American music. Generations of musicians came after them carrying something those street corners planted. Deep Ellum.
Corner of Elm and Central. Remember that address.
What the marker says
The Dallas neighborhood known as Deep Ellum is one of the most significant in the history of the development of Texas music. Surrounding the intersection of Elm Street and Central Avenue in downtown Dallas, Deep Ellum was one of the largest and most dynamic urban African American communities in the United States during the early twentieth century. (The term “Deep Ellum” probably derives from the local pronunciation of “Elm” as “Ellum” and the fact that the area was on the “deep” or far end of Elm street.) As large numbers of African Americans moved into the city to search for jobs, many found work with the nearby railroads, which enabled shops, restaurants and other businesses to establish in the area. Deep Ellum became well-known during the 1920s and 1930s for its nightclubs and dance halls, and many notable musicians lived and performed in the community, playing in churches, on street corners and in bars. Musician Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter (ca. 1888-1949) was born in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. Leadbelly moved to Dallas ca. 1910 and it was here that he heard his first jazz band and where he discovered the 12-string guitar—the instrument that eventually became his favorite. Leadbelly met another musician, Blind Lemon Jefferson, in Dallas ca. 1912, and the two became musical partners, performing on street corners, in clubs, and on the interurban railroad that served the Dallas area. Leadbelly, Jefferson and their Deep Ellum colleagues influenced later generations and had a major impact on the development of American blues, country, jazz and rock music. (2009)